Life in a 108 year old Gingerbread House

...is beautiful, but cold. Partially due to the original old lead glass windows still in place, it's drafty and gets quite chilly. During the summer, it was wonderfully cool most of the day and only became unbearably hot on a few days.

After our last PG&E bill reached close to $450, Naoki started keeping a log of the gas and electricity meter readings. We no longer use electric heaters. He monitors how often we use the gas heater; however, we can no longer use it all now that he purchased a kotatsu. The house is only a few degrees warmer than outside, even at night. It varies from 55 - 60 degrees farenheit. I bundle the baby up in snow gear and keep handwarmers in my pockets to stay warm.

While I'd like to decorate the home in lights for our first Christmas here and with Aislee, Naoki is against anything that might increase the electric bill...although he was kind enough to give me the option taking over payments.

If you're ever considering purchasing an older home, I would strongly suggest making sure it's well insulated, has a newer heating/cooling system, and proper ventilation. I love the beauty of this old Craftsman, but hope our next home is newer...I mean warmer.